Issue Position: Health Care Reform

Issue Position

Congressman Mica, what are your thoughts on rising health care costs?

Access to affordable health care and prescription drugs is becoming more difficult and sometimes impossible for many Americans. It is estimated that over 40 million Americans today either do not have or lack sufficient health care insurance coverage. Costs for health insurance, hospital care and medical treatment have been soaring, and many individuals cannot find affordable health insurance coverage or doctors who will take Medicare patients. Long-term nursing care is becoming so expensive it is out of the price range for millions of our elderly. Medigap premiums have experienced double digit increases. Some physician specialists have told me that their liability premiums now exceed $100,000 per year.

Some basic changes to curtail costs must be taken. Doctors and patients are now swamped by forms and reporting requirements. An avalanche of lawsuits is now forcing health care providers to practice expensive defensive medicine, and drug manufacturers face huge liability exposure for every new medicine put on the market. Unfortunately, some health care providers take advantage of the crises the market is experiencing. It is my hope that Congress will address some of these fundamental problems that have caused medical costs to skyrocket.

What steps can Congress take?

I have been working with my colleagues to pass a much needed health care reform bill. Because of the ridiculous price tag it takes to defend frivolous lawsuits, many doctors and care providers have been forced to practice defensive medicine, or even worse, are closing up their practices. In fact, some have even walked out of emergency rooms. This has happening in our own community. At Central Florida Regional Hospital, surgeons were informed by their carriers that premiums, to be paid up front and in cash, would quadruple. The hospital has since lost the services of four of its five general emergency room surgeons. Another local hospital, Orlando Regional Healthcare, was hit with a $78 million lawsuit award. Subsequently, the costs of these lawsuits are always passed down to the consumer.

In an attempt to stem the tide of these windfall lawsuits, I support legislation and administrative action aimed at curtailing the problem of rising health care costs.

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